I fully admit I used to absolutely detest artificial pitches and have said such on this forum, however, this season I have started to become a convert. Why?

(1) The fact that even in torrential rain there isn't as much as a puddle on the pitch and certainly no muddy goal mouths (like some recent SPL grounds), todays game would have been on if Dundee had a pitch like ours. If we are to play in cold wet Scottish winters then surely this is the way to go?
(2) As the quality of these pitches improve the difference between the quality of play between artificial and grass is negligible and I could argue watching Falkirks slick passing game this season it allows us to play a better and more consistent brand of football
(3) The ability to be able to train on our own pitch and generate additional revenues from games, concerts etc
(4) Cancelled games cost money and hassle for fans (like today), lower attendances etc - being able to know that they are fairly tolerable of rain, frost and snow means a greater confidence in the games being on and less revenue lost here as well as the above extra revenue being generated
(5) Less care required in terms of cutting, feeding, replacing turf etc

Anyone else coming round to these pitches now?

"We knew other teams didn't like coming to Brockville...they said it was a dump...tight pitch...poor surface...we used that to our advantage...the team spirit was outstanding" J Hughes 2003

IF all the pitches were the same standard as ours and as well maintained then there would be less argument, however there is a fairly large variation in quality amongst the pitches in Scotland.Pitches like Alloa's give credence to the doubters dismissive attitude to them.

IMO we need to install high quality artificial pitches in far more locations across Scotland indoor and outdoor.

Bridge of Allan Bairn wrote:I fully admit I used to absolutely detest artificial pitches and have said such on this forum, however, this season I have started to become a convert. Why?

(1) The fact that even in torrential rain there isn't as much as a puddle on the pitch and certainly no muddy goal mouths (like some recent SPL grounds), todays game would have been on if Dundee had a pitch like ours. If we are to play in cold wet Scottish winters then surely this is the way to go?
(2) As the quality of these pitches improve the difference between the quality of play between artificial and grass is negligible and I could argue watching Falkirks slick passing game this season it allows us to play a better and more consistent brand of football
(3) The ability to be able to train on our own pitch and generate additional revenues from games, concerts etc
(4) Cancelled games cost money and hassle for fans (like today), lower attendances etc - being able to know that they are fairly tolerable of rain, frost and snow means a greater confidence in the games being on and less revenue lost here as well as the above extra revenue being generated
(5) Less care required in terms of cutting, feeding, replacing turf etc

Anyone else coming round to these pitches now?

Pretty much in a nutshell, all of the above. There was surprise and scepticism when the BODs made the decision to go artificial. But recent events at the time, most notably our attempts to get the pitch ready for a Cup game in vain, was the straw which broke the camels back. We had to go artificial to stop that shambles happening again. We installed a high quality pitch (unlike Alloa's and QOS) and it's paying large dividends for the reasons listed by Bridge Of Allan Bairn. I couldn't see a puddle on the pitch during the Dumbarton deluge, and that confirmed to me we made the right decision. We probably re-used the leftover drainage system as well, which also helps. I'll say again, well done BODs, another double six.

I have been impressed with our Artificial Pitch, it seems to play better in the wet than on drier days ( Spring Summer).
Also there have been shots hit / goals scored off that surface that wouldn't have happened on grass, the ball flies off the surface when wet. An example being Millers 2nd v Livingston on a grass pitch a keeper would have saved that header, but the pace / bounce off the artificial surface resulted in the goal.

It's grass before artificial all day every day for me. There is still something not quite right about the bounce etc for me. However, if we had the money like the English Premiership Clubs have to buy the lighting systems etc to keep the grass lush, I would never want artificial.
It's the best solution for a country like Scotland for the second tier teams like us. It won't be that long until we need to replace it, hopefully with an even better surface as technology advances.

kent brockman wrote:Our pitch is a credit to Falkirk FC and has set the standard for artificial pitches in Scotland.

The SFA should insist that all new surfaces are installed to a similar standard.

Perhaps the SFA should insist that all spectators wear Canada Goose jackets to watch games being played on artificial surfaces?

The technology we now have has to be used where possible, no doubt that the artificial surface can give smaller clubs a new revenue stream but the need to be of a minimum standard, you only have to look at Alloa to see just how bad it can be, had it not been for a few directors and KB there is no doubt that we would have had something very similar.
The push at the time was that if we were going for 3G then we needed to go for the very best possible, there is no doubt that even now ours is still the best 3G pitch in Scotland.

In a perfect world you would have grass, but no doubting that we have the next best thing.

Some pitches that clubs play on in the European cup are Artificial. Take Wembley for instance it is 60 percent Artificial and grass you don't get many complaints. ABERDEEN said that our pitch is the best they have played on..

In my view the artificial pitch debate will swing in the years to come. All the academy players now coming through are brought up on these surfaces and virtually 100% prefer it. The dinosaur players who were brought up to hate the sand based older style versions simply are unable to change their views because its ingrained in them. It's like say a skoda which was a brand mocked when I was a youngster some people still wouldn't have one because of that. The cars they produce now bare no resemblance to the ones from years gone by and a youngster wouldn't think twice about owning one

Anyone know how much we make off our artificial pitch hires and why Campbell Craigs community lot seem to use the old Woodlands high pitch instead of it for their football teams. Surely be better if that cash was coming into the club?